Improvements in modular construction systems

ABSTRACT

A joining system is provided for connecting first and second building construction members. The system includes a female dog ( 18 ) that connects to the first building construction member ( 14 ) and includes first and second female dog receiving surfaces ( 20,22 ), which face generally away from each other, and are adjacent an aperture ( 24 ) defining an axis. The system further includes a male dog ( 32 ) that is connectable to the second building construction member ( 16 ) and includes first and second male dog clamping surfaces ( 33,34 ) which generally face each other. The male dog ( 32 ) inserts through the aperture ( 24 ) and moves in a first lateral direction to clamp the female dog ( 18 ). A locking arrangement ( 42 ) includes first and second locking structures ( 44,46 ) which engage to permit movement of the male dog ( 32 ) in the first lateral direction to increase a clamping force on the female dog ( 18 ), and inhibit movement opposite the first lateral direction.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to modular construction systems and in particular to systems and methods for connecting construction members such as walls and roof members and for supporting floor panels.

BACKGROUND

Modular construction systems have been proposed but can be generally time consuming to assemble into buildings and can require a significant amount of work onsite to complete. It would be preferable to provide a modular construction system that reduces the amount of finishing work that is needed at the site of assembly of the building and that is relatively easy to assemble.

SUMMARY

In an aspect, a joining system is provided for connecting a first building construction member and a second building construction member. The joining system includes a female dog that is connectable to the first building construction member and includes a first female dog receiving surface and a second female dog receiving surface. The first and second female dog receiving surfaces face generally away from each other, and are adjacent a male dog pass-through aperture that defines an aperture axis. The joining system further includes a male dog that is connectable to the second building construction member and includes a first male dog clamping surface and a second male dog clamping surface. The first and second male dog clamping surfaces generally face each other. A portion of the male dog is insertable through the male dog pass-through aperture and is moveable in a first generally lateral direction to clamp the female dog. The joining system further includes a locking arrangement including a first locking structure on the female dog and a second locking structure on the male dog. The first locking structure is engageable with the second locking structure to permit movement of the male dog in the first lateral direction so as to increase a clamping force of the male dog on the female dog, and to inhibit movement of the male dog in a second generally lateral direction that is opposite the first generally lateral direction.

In another aspect, a floor support system is provided and includes a cross-beam and a floor support member. The cross-beam extends horizontally. The cross-beam has a top wall, a bottom wall and a side-wall, and has an interior defined at least in part by the top wall, the bottom wall and the side-wall. The side-wall has a plurality of floor support pass-through slots that are spaced horizontally apart from one another. The floor support member includes a vertical portion that extends upwardly from the slot in the interior, immediately adjacent to the side-wall, and a horizontal portion that extends outward through the slot to support a floor panel.

In yet another aspect, a roof panel joining system is provided and includes a bolt, a roof panel support member and a roof panel. The bolt has a bolt thread. The roof panel support member extends generally horizontally and that has a side-wall with a roof panel side-wall bolt aperture therethrough. The roof panel support member has a bolt holding surface positioned to support the bolt against lateral movement. The roof panel having a roof panel side-wall that is matable with the side-wall of the roof panel support member. The roof panel has a roof panel threaded aperture therethrough. The bolt extends through the side-wall of the roof panel support member, through the roof panel threaded aperture. At least one of the roof panel and the roof panel support member has an access aperture to permit access to the bolt to permit rotation of at least one of the bolt and the roof panel threaded aperture relative to the other of the bolt and the roof panel threaded aperture to drive the roof panel side-wall into abutment with the roof panel support member side wall.

In yet another aspect, a joining system for joining a first wall panel and a second wall panel is provided. The joining system includes a first support plate that is connected to the first wall panel, and a second support plate connected to the second wall panel, a first clamping surface on the first support plate, and a second clamping surface on the second support plate. The joining system further includes a threaded member having a first end in a first end chamber, wherein the threaded member passes through the first support member, through the second wall panel, and through the second support plate, wherein the first end abuts the first clamping surface. The second end has a nut thereon that is tightenable against the second support plate to clamp the second wall panel to the first wall panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building with a portion cut away, and including one or more improvements in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a portion of the building shown in FIG. 1 illustrating one of the improvements which is a joining system connecting first and second construction members;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of another portion of the building shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the joining system connecting different first and second construction members;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a magnified portion of FIG. 1, showing the joining system shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective exploded view of the joining system shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIGS. 6A-6F are sectional side views that illustrate the engagement of a female dog and a male dog that are included in the joining system shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIGS. 7A-7C are sectional side views that illustrate the engagement of a variant of the female dog and male dog that are included in the joining system shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 8 is perspective view of two roof panels from the building shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a sectional elevation view of a connection between a roof panel and a roof panel support member in accordance incorporating a roof panel joining system in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of the roof panel support member shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective cutaway view of two wall panels that are joinable together using the joining system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a sectional elevation view of first and second wall panels that are connected via a wall panel joining system that may advantageously be used in the building shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a sectional elevation view of a floor support system that may advantageously be used in the building shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the floor support system shown in FIG. 13; and

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an alternative for a part of the floor support system shown in FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Reference is made to FIG. 1, which shows a building 10 which is constructed at least partially out of modular components and which includes one or more of several improvements. A first improvement is shown in FIGS. 2-5 and 6A-6F, and is a joining system shown generally at 12 for connecting a first building construction member 14 and a second building construction member 16. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 the first building construction member 14 could be a roof panel and the second building construction member 16 could be a gable wall panel. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, the first building construction member 14 could be a roof panel and the second building construction member could be another type of wall panel.

The joining system 12 includes a female dog 18 that is connectable to the first building construction member 14 and includes a first female dog receiving surface 20 and a second female dog receiving surface 22. The first and second female dog receiving surfaces 20 and 22 face generally away from each other and are adjacent a male dog pass-through aperture 24 that defines an aperture axis A (FIG. 5). The male dog pass-through aperture 24 may be defined in a female dog base plate 25 that extends generally laterally. The female dog base plate 25 may also have the second female dog receiving surface 22 thereon.

The first female dog receiving surface 20 may be provided on a female dog projection plate 26 that extends generally perpendicularly to the female dog base plate 25. The female dog projection plate 26 may be affixed to the female dog base plate 25 by any suitable means. For example, the female dog projection plate 26 may have stubs that extend into mounting holes in the female dog base plate 25 and may be secured by welding, by press-fit, or by any other suitable means.

The female dog 18 extends inwardly in the first construction member, into a female dog chamber 27 (FIGS. 2 and 3) defined in the first construction member 14. The female dog chamber 27 may be provided by a length of hollow section tube shown at 28, such as, for example, square hollow section steel tube, that forms part of the first construction member 14. The hollow section tube 28 may be configured as a frame that surrounds a core panel 29 (FIGS. 7A-7C) that may be made from EPS (Expanded Polystyrene). The panel can made using different construction methods and materials including cross laminated panel and conventional stub construction panel technologies. The frame and the core panel 29 may be covered on both the upper and lower faces by an exterior face layer 30 of MgO which presents a finished surface, as is known for use in housing construction. A layer of roof sheet 31 may be installed over the roof panel. The roof sheet may be, for example, any suitable material such as, for example, corrugated sheet that may be made from a polymeric material or a metallic material.

The joining system 12 further includes a male dog 32 that is connectable to the second building construction member 16 and includes a first male dog clamping surface 33 and a second male dog clamping surface 34. The first and second male dog clamping surfaces 33 and 34 generally face each other. A portion 36 of the male dog 32 is insertable through the male dog pass-through aperture 24 (as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6B and is moveable in a first generally lateral direction (shown by arrow D1 in FIGS. 6C-6E) to clamp the female dog 18. The male dog 32 includes a male dog base plate 38 that extends generally laterally and which has the second male dog clamping surface 34 thereon. The male dog 32 may further include a male dog projection plate 40 that extends generally perpendicularly to the male dog base plate 38. The male dog projection plate 40 may be mounted to the male dog base plate by any suitable means, such as any of the means described above for affixing the female dog projection plate 26 to the female dog base plate 25.

The joining system 12 further includes a locking arrangement 42, which includes a first locking structure 44 on the female dog 18 and a second locking structure 46 on the male dog 32. The first locking structure 44 is engageable with the second locking structure 46 to permit movement of the male dog 32 in the first lateral direction so as to increase a clamping force of the male dog 32 on the female dog 18, and to inhibit movement of the male dog 32 in a second generally lateral direction that is opposite the first generally lateral direction.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2-5 and 6A-6F, the first locking structure 44 includes a pawl 48 (in the form of a pawl plate) on the female dog 18, and the second locking structure includes a plurality of male dog teeth 50. In this embodiment, the locking arrangement 42 further includes a pawl biasing member 52 that urges the pawl 48 towards engagement with the male dog teeth 50. The pawl biasing member 52 may be in the form of a plurality of helical coil springs 54 (or may be any other suitable type of biasing member). The helical coil springs 54 are shown as being mounted on shoulder bolts 56 that extends through the female dog base plate 25 and the pawl 48 and are held thereon with nuts 58. Washers 60 are shown supporting the pawl 48 in a spaced relationship with the female dog base plate 25.

FIGS. 6A-6F illustrate the progression of movement of the male dog 32 through the aperture 24 and into full engagement with the female dog 18. As can be seen, the pawl 48, is urged down into engagement with each tooth 50 as the male dog 32 moves in the direction D1, thereby permitting further movement in the direction D1, while preventing movement in a second direction that is opposite to the direction D1.

It will be noted that when the first and second construction members 14 and 16 are joined together, they may not join in such a way where the male dog reaches the position shown in FIG. 6F. It may, for example, only reach the position shown in FIG. 6D or 6E. However, over time, as the building 10 settles any vibration or movement that is imparted to the male or female dog in the direction of D1 will result in advancement towards the position shown in FIG. 6F (i.e. towards progressively greater engagement) and any vibration or other movement that is imparted to the male and female dogs 32 and 18 in the direction away from D1 will result in no movement of the male and female dogs 32 and 18. Thus, on the assumption that, over time, settling of the building 10 and other events will encourage movement in essentially all directions, eventually the engagement between the female and male dogs 18 and 32 could increase, which will strengthen the building 10 and will improve the ‘squareness’ of the joints between the various construction members that make up the building.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate the progressive engagement of the male and female dogs 32 and 18 with a variant of the locking arrangement 42, in which the first locking structure 44 includes a plurality of female dog teeth 52 on the first female dog receiving surface 20 and the second locking structure 46 includes a plurality of male dog teeth 54 on the first male dog clamping surface 33, wherein the female dog teeth 52 and male dog teeth 54 extend generally axially and are interdigitatable with each other in a generally axial/lateral plane, which is the plane shown in the view in FIGS. 7A-7C.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, the first and second construction members 14 and 16 are roof panels, which join together in a lap joint as can be better seen in FIG. 8. The roof panels are identified at 58 and 60. The roof panel 58 has a first extension portion 62 and the roof panel 60 has a second extension portion 64 that overlaps the first extension portion 62. When joining the roof panels 58 and 60, the first roof panel 58 is laid down on the support structure of the building, and is then slid upwardly into place until its upper edge engages a ridge structure or other roof panel support member (an example of which is shown at 66 in FIGS. 9 and 10). This process of bringing the roof panels into abutment with the ridge structure is described further below. Once the roof panel 58 is installed in abutment with the roof panel support member, the roof panel 60 is laid down with its extension portion 64 on top of the extension portion 62 of the first roof panel 58, so as to make the lap joint. The male dog 32 is provided on the extension portion 64 and projects downwardly, while the female dog 18 is provided in the extension portion 62 of the roof panel 58. When the roof panel 60 is laid down, it is done such that the male dog 32 is inserted down through the aperture 24 (FIG. 7A) in the female dog 18. The roof panel 60 is then slid upwardly to drive it towards abutment with the roof panel support member (such as member 66), which also brings the male dog 32 into progressively greater engagement with the female dog 18, as illustrated in the sectional side elevation views of FIGS. 7A-7C.

Reference is made to FIG. 11 which shows a first wall panel 68 that may be the first construction member 14 and that has a plurality of female dogs 18 thereon, and a second wall panel 70 that may be the second construction member 16 and that has a plurality of male dogs 32 thereon. In the view shown, the female and male dogs 18 and 32 are facing the viewer of the image for ease of viewing, however, it will be understood that the wall panel 70 with the male dogs 32 would have to rotate by some amount in order for the male dogs 32 to insert through the apertures 24 in the female dogs 18. The female dogs 18 extend inwardly in dog chambers 72. The male dogs 32 extend from a face of the wall panel 70 and are inserted through the apertures 24 into the chambers 72, at which point the wall panel 70 can be lowered in order to cause clamping engagement between the female and male dogs 18 and 32.

The wall panels 68 and 70 may have a similar structure to the roof panels described above. The wall panels 68 and 70 may each include a core panel 74 of EPS that is surrounded by a frame 76 that is formed by metallic channel members. A layer 78 of MgO board may be provided on the two faces of the wall panels 68 and 70. The panel can made using different construction methods and materials including cross laminated panel and conventional stub construction panel technologies.

A system for joining wall panels together is shown in FIG. 12. A first wall panel is shown at 80 and a second wall panel is shown at 82. The wall panels 80 and 82 may be joined together in a way that permits them to be fixedly held together. In this way, wall panels may be stand edge to edge, so that the building may have a height that is greater than the height of one wall panel. As can be seen, each wall panel has the core panel 74 of EPS, the frame 76 and the outer layer 78 of MgO board on either side, which gives the wall a finished appearance. Note the panel can made using different construction methods and materials including cross laminated panel and conventional stub construction panel technologies. Each wall panel 80, 82 has a support plate 84. The support plate 84 on the first wall panel 80 may be referred to as a first support plate 84 a. The support plate 84 in the second wall panel 82 may be referred to as the second support plate 84 b. The first support plate 84 a has a clamping surface 86, and the second support plate 84 b has a second clamping surface 88. A threaded member 90 (e.g. a threaded rod) passes from a first end chamber 92 in the first wall panel 80, through the first support plate 84 a, through the second wall panel 82, and through the second support plate 84 b. The first end, shown at 94, abuts the first clamping surface 86 by means of a nutsert 96 or by any other suitable means to prevent the first end 94 from passing through the support plate 84 a.

The second end, shown at 98 of the threaded member 90 has a nut 100 thereon that can be tightened down against the second clamping surface 88. By tightening down the nut, the second wall panel 82 is clamped down tightly against the edge of the first wall panel 80. Male and female dogs (not shown in FIG. 12) can also be used to assist in the joining of the two wall panels in similar manner to their use in the wall panels shown in FIG. 11. Thus, the more the nut 100 is tightened the more the dogs 18 and 32 engage one another.

Also shown in FIG. 12 is a spacer 101 that is provided to cover the interface between two adjacent wall panels 80 and 82. The spacer 101 may also seal the interface between the wall panels 80 and 82 from the introduction of moisture or other contaminants that could be detrimental thereto. The spacer 101 also serves to permit some tolerance in the distance between the outer layers 78 of the from one another in the adjacent wall panels 80 and 82, so that the interface isn't exposed even if the wall panels 80 and 82 do not abut one another as tightly as desired.

Reference is made to FIG. 13, which shows how the first wall panel 80 is joined to a floor. In FIG. 13, a threaded member 90 extends up through a support plate (which in this instance is an upper wall 104 of a rectangular hollow section cross-beam shown at 106. The nutsert 96 prevents the first end 94 of the threaded member 90 from passing through the upper wall 104. The threaded member 90 passes through the support plate, and into the wall panel 80, through the wall panel 80 and, as shown in FIG. 12, through a support plate 84 b wherein it is clamped town via a nut 100.

Referring back to FIG. 13, a wall end member 108 may be provided on the lower edge of the wall panel 80 for engagement with the floor surface shown at 110 on which the wall panel 80 mounts. The wall end member 108 may include a wall end member housing 112 and a wall end member core member 114.

A floor support system that is advantageous is shown at 150 in FIG. 13 for supporting a floor panel 115. The floor support system 150 includes the aforementioned cross-beam 106, and a floor support member 116. The cross-beam 106 extends horizontally and has the aforementioned top wall 104, a bottom wall 118 and a side-wall 120. In the present embodiment, the cross-beam is a rectangular hollow section beam and therefore the side wall 120 is a first side-wall and the cross-beam 106 further includes a second side wall 122. The cross-beam 106 further has an interior 124 defined at least in part by the top wall 104, the bottom wall 118 and the side-wall 120 (and in the present example, the second side-wall 122.

The side-wall 120 has a plurality of floor support pass-through slots shown at 126 therethrough. The floor support pass-through slots 126 are spaced horizontally apart from one another. The cross-beam 106 is shown more clearly in FIG. 13. The floor support member 116 may be generally L-shaped, and includes a vertical portion 128 that extends upwardly from the slot in the interior, immediately adjacent to the side-wall 120, and a horizontal portion 130 that extends outward through the slots 126 to support the floor panel 115. The cross-beam 106 and an embodiment of the floor support member 116 are shown in FIG. 14. As can be seen, the floor support 116 is provided with cutouts 132 in the vertical portion 128 and that extend partially in the horizontal portion 130 so as to permit it to fit in the plurality of slots 126. Alternatively individual floor supports 116 may be provided. By mounting the floor support member 116 in this way to the cross-beam 106, the floor support member 116 is supported by, but separate from, the cross-beam 106. Welding and mechanical fasteners are not required to connect the floor support member 116 to the cross-beam 106. This provides for a more predictable joint as compared to joints that rely on welds, and is relatively less time consuming to install.

The floor panel 115, which may be aerated concrete such as is provided under the brand name Hebel®, which is owned by the Xella Group of Germany, may be supported on the horizontal portion 130 of the floor support member 116 and may be fastened thereto using a mechanical fastener 132 (e.g. a concrete screw), such that the floor panel 115 abuts the side-wall 120 of the cross-beam 106. This holds the floor support member 116 snugly against the inside face of the side-wall 120.

A “core panel” or “panel” in the aforementioned application may be made using a plurality of different construction methods and materials known to one of ordinary skill in the art including cross lamentation, timber, stud wall and conventional constructional panel technologies.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that there are yet more alternative implementations and modifications possible, and that the above examples are only illustrations of one or more implementations. The scope, therefore, is only to be limited by the claims appended hereto. 

1. A joining system for connecting a first building construction member and a second building construction member, comprising: a female dog that is connectable to the first building construction member and includes a first female dog receiving surface and a second female dog receiving surface, wherein the first and second female dog receiving surfaces face generally away from each other, and are adjacent a male dog pass-through aperture that defines an aperture axis; a male dog that is connectable to the second building construction member and includes a first male dog clamping surface and a second male dog clamping surface, wherein the first and second male dog clamping surfaces generally face each other, wherein a portion of the male dog is insertable through the male dog pass-through aperture and is moveable in a first generally lateral direction to clamp the female dog; and a locking arrangement including a first locking structure on the female dog and a second locking structure on the male dog, wherein the first locking structure is engageable with the second locking structure to permit movement of the male dog in the first lateral direction so as to increase a clamping force of the male dog on the female dog, and to inhibit movement of the male dog in a second generally lateral direction that is opposite the first generally lateral direction.
 2. A joining system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first locking structure includes a plurality of female dog teeth on the first female dog receiving surface and the second locking structure includes a plurality of male dog teeth on the first male dog clamping surface, wherein the female dog teeth and male dog teeth are interdigitatable with each other in a generally axial/lateral plane.
 3. A joining system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first locking structure includes a pawl on the female dog, wherein the second locking structure includes a plurality of male dog teeth, wherein the locking arrangement further includes a pawl biasing member that urges the pawl towards engagement with the male dog teeth.
 4. A joining system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the female dog includes a female dog base plate that extends generally laterally and a female dog projection plate that extends generally perpendicularly to the female dog base plate, and wherein the male dog includes a male dog base plate that extends generally laterally and a male dog projection plate that has generally perpendicularly to the male dog base plate.
 5. A joining system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first female dog receiving surface is on the female dog projection plate and the second female dog receiving surface is on the female dog base plate, and wherein the first male dog clamping surface is on the male dog projection plate and the second male dog clamping surface is on the male dog base plate.
 6. A floor support system, comprising: a cross-beam that extends horizontally, wherein the cross-beam has a top wall, a bottom wall and a side-wall, and that has an interior defined at least in part by the top wall, the bottom wall and the side-wall, wherein the side-wall has a plurality of floor support pass-through slots that are spaced horizontally apart from one another; and a floor support member, wherein the floor support member includes a vertical portion that extends upwardly from the slot in the interior, immediately adjacent to the side-wall, and a horizontal portion that extends outward through the slot to support a floor panel.
 7. A floor support system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the floor support member is generally L-shaped.
 8. A floor support system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the floor support member is supported by, but separate from, the cross-beam.
 9. A roof panel joining system, comprising: a bolt having a bolt thread; a roof panel support member that extends generally horizontally and that has a side-wall with a roof panel side-wall bolt aperture therethrough, wherein the roof panel support member has a bolt holding surface positioned to support the bolt against lateral movement; a roof panel having a roof panel side-wall that is matable with the side-wall of the roof panel support member, wherein the roof panel has a roof panel threaded aperture therethrough, wherein the bolt extends through the side-wall of the roof panel support member, through the roof panel threaded aperture, wherein at least one of the roof panel and the roof panel support member has an access aperture to permit access to the bolt to permit rotation of at least one of the bolt and the roof panel threaded aperture relative to the other of the bolt and the roof panel threaded aperture to drive the roof panel side-wall into abutment with the roof panel support member side wall.
 10. A roof panel joining system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the roof panel support member has a roof panel support member threaded aperture that is the bolt holding surface when engaged with the bolt thread.
 11. A roof panel joining system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the bolt has a bolt head and wherein the bolt holding surface is a shoulder on the roof panel support member that engages the bolt head.
 12. A joining system for joining a first wall panel and a second wall panel, comprising: a first support plate that is connected to the first wall panel, and a second support plate connected to the second wall panel, a first clamping surface on the first support plate, and a second clamping surface on the second support plate; and a threaded member having a first end in a first end chamber, wherein the threaded member passes through the first support member, through the second wall panel, and through the second support plate, wherein the first end abuts the first clamping surface, and wherein the second end has a nut thereon that is tightenable against the second support plate to clamp the second wall panel to the first wall panel. 